ALMOST 132,000 European women die from breast cancer every year and 430,000 are diagnosed with the disease.
Given the enormous influence of lifestyle factors on women’s breast health, European Breast Cancer Coalition Europa Donna will today hold its first annual Breast Health Day.
Its purpose is to broadcast information on the enormous influence that nutrition, exercise and avoiding excess weight have on breast cancer risk.
A media event in Milan, Italy to launch the day will feature EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, International Agency for Research on Cancer Director Professor Peter Boyle, renowned breast surgeon Proferssor Umberto Veronesi and other key European figures.
“As much as 25 to 33 per cent of breast cancer cases are related to being overweight and physically inactive. In Europe an average of 60 per cent of women aged 55–64 and 37 per cent aged 35–44 are overweight or obese. This has enormous health implications for women and girls today. They must be informed of this risk,” said Ingrid Kössler, Europa Donna President.
Representatives from Europa Donna’s member groups in 41 European countries, consisting of advocates, many of whom are breast cancer survivors, will also attend the event. They want women and girls of all ages in all countries to understand the influence that lifestyle choices can have on their future health, a Europa Donna press release said.
A webcast of the event will be available on the Coalition’s website (www.europadonna.org) and the newly launched Breast Health Day website, www.breasthealthday.org. Europa Donna has created this new website dedicated to the event, containing key documents, facts and information on lifestyle factors and breast health.
Europa Donna will today also release its Guide to Breast Health – based on Europa Donna’s Breast Health Passport – covering lifestyle factors influencing breast cancer. It is a companion to the Coalition’s Short Guide to the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis.
Europa Donna has worked relentlessly to have the guidelines implemented across Europe, which set clear quality standards for all aspects of screening and diagnosis and have specific chapters dedicated to each discipline involved. The Short Guide has been translated from English into French and Spanish. Translations into German, Italian, Russian, Greek and Turkish are under way, and Polish, Swedish and Slovenian will follow.
In addition, a media spot highlighting these two documents and what women should know will be aired in Europa Donna’s 41 member countries, said Susan Knox, Executive Director of Europa Donna.
It encourages women to consult the Coalition’s website to find out about the breast services they should seek and have a right to receive regardless of their country, region or background, particularly in terms of access to population-based mammography screening programmes and treatment in specialist breast units.
Research has shown that women aged 50–69 who attend mammography screening reduce their risk of dying of breast cancer by about 35 per cent.
“One in 10 women in the EU-27 will develop breast cancer before she reaches 80 years of age. There remain great disparities in the access to high-quality population-based screening, effective treatment and follow-up among many countries and regions. A woman’s chance of surviving can depend greatly on where she lives. Women need to be aware of lifestyle factors that can influence their chances of getting breast cancer, and of opportunities to detect it and effectively treat it as early as possible when it does occur,” said Knox.
Key messages and facts
(Information taken from the European Breast Cancer Coalition website)
KEY MESSAGES
l Living a healthy, active lifestyle, avoiding weight gain and obesity can help maintain healthy breasts. Studies show that about one-third of breast cancer cases can be attributed to increased weight and physical inactivity.
l Growing evidence supports that there is a protective association between physical activity and breast cancer, preferably over a lifetime, but probably beneficial even if begun after menopause. The effect of weight loss is independent of physical activity.
l Women should limit their weight gain in adult life and maintain a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5-24.9. They should also try to limit their amount of abdominal fat. In women who have had breast cancer, maintaining a healthy weight may reduce the chances of recurrence.
l Inactivity is estimated to cause 10 to 16 per cent of all breast cancer cases. Engaging in moderate exercise for at least 30-60 minutes every day may help maintain breast health.
l Eating a well-balanced diet (with fat intake not exceeding 30 per cent, including fresh fruit and vegetables in your daily food choices and limiting intake of red meat, has numerous health benefits.
l Limiting alcohol intake to one glass of wine or beer a day (10 grams of alcohol or less per day) can help keep breasts healthy.
l Having children at a younger age, having several and breast-feeding them also protects against breast cancer.
l Seriously considering the pros and cons of taking hormone replacement therapy and discussing them with your physician can influence future health.
l Mammography is widely accepted as the best method to detect breast cancer early.
l Participating in population-based mammography screening programmes can help detect potential problems early. Studies show that women who attend screening have a greater chance of surviving a breast cancer diagnosis.
FACTS
l Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with over 1 million new cases reported annually.
l There are twice as many new breast cancer cases annually than new cases of cancer in any other site.
l An average of 20–30 per cent of breast cancer cases in Europe occur in women when they are younger than 50 years old; 33 per cent occur at age 50–64 and the remaining cases in women above this age.
l Breast cancer claims the lives of more European women than any other cancer.
l The average five-year relative survival of European women diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995-1999 was 79.5 per cent.
l If detected early, most breast cancers can be controlled if managed properly. The disparity in breast cancer mortality among different geographical areas suggests that the efficacy of the health care systems may have a greater influence on mortality than background risk of the disease.
